IT'S THAT TIME... tires and wheels

[e36surge]

Hello gentlemen and some ladies.

Well the great white north has reached the end of the thaw and I'm in the hunt for tires and wheels. I know this is a hot topic so here are my questions:

1) What is the maximum width of tire I can have on the rear? I'm thinking about 245s?
2) Looking for black rims with the polished rim/edge, which rim would you suggest?
3) front suspension needs TLC. Which shocks would you suggest? Springs are new.
4) If I do get 245s in the rear and 235s in the front how would that effect handling?

There has been much talk about 'Rolling fenders' . Can someone please define the process?

I thank you in advance for your input.

e36surge

[Furious]

rolling fenders is basically taking the inner wheel well and tucking up higher and further in to give you a bit more clearance for a wider tire, 245's are possible but you will have to roll the fenders for both 17's and 18's. to be honest 235's will have a bit of trouble on 18's as well but should be ok on 17's.
if i were you id get a nice set of 18's with a 235 width tire and roll the fender just a bit to give you that extra clearance

[///M Power]

If you are VERy performance oriented you ideally want to find a very lightweight 17" wheel (14-19 lbs each) in a unstaggered setup. If you go with a really heavy wheel you'll defintely notice a decrease in acceleration due to the extra unsprung weight. You should look in the offsets of +37 to +43. The higher the offset the more the wheel will be in. So a wheel with a +35 offset would stick out further than a wheel with +35. So if you buy a wheel with 43 offset and find they rub a little bit on the inside you can add 3 to 5 mm spacers and you could have a wheel with 40 to 38 mm offset. They also sell spacers in larger sizes. The bolt pattern you need is 5x120mm

Going with wider tires in the rear has the obvious pro for traction but has the major cons of increasing understeer, and not being able to rotate tires front and back.

As Mark recommended, 18's with 235/40 tires. Roll fenders for good clearance and less chance of rubbing. There are a boat load of wheel options out there. Keep an eye on the wheel/tire classifieds section on our site as well as check out www.tirerack.com

I currently have 18" wheels with a 35 mm offset, with 235/40/18 tires I have yet to put on. I have my rear fenders rolled. Im hoping they will fit but im pushing it close.

For your frotn struts you should get some Koni Single Adjustable struts. They have the ability to adjust dampening (how soft or stiff your ride is). Koni SA's are an insert so you would need ot keep your stock front struts and insert the Koni's into them. Another greta option is Bilstein Sports. If you arent looking for adjustable or super sporty handling you could defintely go with somethign factory feeling liek Bilstein Heavy Duty.

[e36surge]

Thanks for the information. I'm thinking of staying with 17's. Much appreciated. Now is there anywhere I can learn how to rool fenders?

[moe_j]

hey surge i hop you find some thing you are looking for.
but i have a question. is that white car yours. if so are you gonna get rideoff those rims if so letme know i would like to have those rims on my 94 325

[e36surge]

Yes that is my car in my sig. And unfortunatelt Moe I won't be selling them. They are currently being re-finished as they were beginning to flake.

However if he price is right I just may sell them. Each rim's centre reads "BMW MOTORSPORT" and came original on the car.

[e36surge]

I've decided against aftermarket wheels. The existing rims I have in my sig are being re-done. ghost black with a polished lip.

I'm going for 235s all four corners. Will wait until next year to roll fenders when the car will be re-painted. Any suggestions on tires. I would prefer performance above all.

And thanks for the feedback so far.

[uber e36]

I've got 245/40/17 on 17x9 wheels on the rear and 225/45/17 on 17x8 wheels on the front.

I have no issues with my OEM M-Technic Sport Suspension.

I'm in the middle of installing the H&R Sport Spring with Bilstein Sport Shocks combo, and we'll see if there's any problems in the rear - I don't expect any.

[vwk]

I think you could get problems. I have the blue H&R springs and Bilstein B8 Sport, but if I get one size wider tyres it won't fit anymore.

Now I'm running 225/45/17 in the front and 235/40/17 in the rear. In the front I could go up one size, but not even nearly in the rear.

[e36surge]

And what rubber are you unning?